Tangled After Ever After

Moments of the Past

One year and a few months ago...

     We made our way back to Corona. The events of that evening still present as the young alchemist -Varian- was pulled close behind. As we entered the gates of the castle, everyone immediately separated; preparing for their unexpected adventure. Walking back to my quarters I caught sight of Lance who was having a meltdown. Trying to find the words to tell Red and Angry (the two orphan girls he met a few weeks ago) that he was leaving for a bit. They were reluctant to let their newly made father figure go, but they made him promise that when he returned they'd get ice cream together and he'd have to tell them everything. He gratefully accepted, pulling them both deep into a tight embrace. I continued down the hall, acknowledging Raps as she ran off with pure excitement plastered on her face. Eugene moved slowly behind her a gentle grin resting over with a sort of heaviness. I found my hand reaching over his shoulder, "Eugene? Are you alright?"
"Hm. Oh, yes of course. It's just...been a long night."
    "I feel you on that, Fitzherbert." I slapped his shoulder roughly moving past him.
    It wouldn't surprise me if Eugene tried to propose to Raps during their journey.
      He is way too predictable.
   I arrived in my room; sharp claws digging onto my shoulder. I looked up at Owl the excitement of going on their first journey together clearly present through his ruffled feathers and a light coo. I would never admit it to anyone, but I was just as excited.
     I opened my closet, grabbing a dark blue cloak. "Hopefully, this adventure won't last too long. I don't know how I will ever survive with all those weirdos." I looked up at Owl, who gave me a head tilt to the right. Showing me that he agreed. I returned to my dresser, picking another accessory a sturdy piece of metal that would cover my torso that would indeed protect and warn others of my position to protect Raps.
    Placing the two center pieces aside, my fingers stroked the handles of the wardrobe of weapons. Pulling it open, I beheld all types of treasures from nun-chucks to a double tipped sword with sharp spikes at handle. Needless to say it was a phase. Most of these weapons were given to me by Dad.
    I found my eyes turning down in dejection. Dad he will be the hardest thing I will have to leave behind. But for him, I would return pride.
    I reached for my single sword perfectly sharpened, feeling the hefty handle dig into my palm. I examined it for a moment. An imagined battle of victory played out in its reflection before flash brought me back to later that evening.
       "Hello, Cassandra."
   I observed his piercing blue eyes as they met mine through the blade, anger present as a gripped the sword tighter.
   "I always knew I could sweep you off your feet."
  I sheathed the sword quickly strapping it down, so it rested behind my back.
    Then I saw the gleam of the morning sunshine bounce off the prism of my closet, erupting the whole room in spotted purple and gold. I turned around, seeing the source. My mind bouncing back to Varian's mischievous eyes as I held him by his collar the first time we had met. They were full of wonder, with a giggle constantly on his lips, even in complete panic of getting hit in the face.
      I smiled at the thought.
  How things had changed so much.

***

    The dark speckled night was crisp as I sat on my bed, sharpening my sword, when something hit the window. I jolted causing my sharpening tool to fall out of my grip. Another soon followed. I grabbed the sword and made my way towards the window, seeing a figure in a dark hood. Curiosity bit into me.
    I made my way down the hallway, passing guards on patrol, "Good evening, Cassandra." I nodded in the guard's direction, acknowledging the attention.
    I walked quietly, yet quickly outside to the royal gardens. My instant thought turned to danger as adrenaline unsheathed my weapon slowly to not produce a sound. The figure who stood before me began to make another motion to throw a rock at my window. Before I even processed my action, my sword was brought to the figure's throat. "Tell me who you are and what you want," I whispered harshly in the figure's ear.
       Hands rose in the air at the sudden action resulting in the stone releasing from his grasp.
   "Varian! Varian. Cassie...it's me. I..I just wanted to show you something." His voice rose in alarm before slowing as he fumbled with his words.
   "Oh, kid." I moved my sword gently away from his neck. "Are you okay?"
   I brought my hand to his shoulder facing to him, "I'm fine." He dropped his defensive hands, bringing out nervous giggles, before positioning them to his front, his head bowing down to his feet.
   "I should have known better than to have freaked you out. You must have been frightened."
   "Well, yeah. What sort of person goes in the dark of night to throw rocks at someone's window?" I put my sword back in its position roughly. Placing my hands on my hips. "And how did you even know which one was mine?"
   As the sentence left my lips, I could have sworn his cheeks had turned scarlet. He giggled again, his hands again returning to his neck. "Yeah, I asked Rapunzel which window was yours."
   "That's a peculiar thing to ask the Princess of Corona."
   "Yeah, it sounds a bit ridiculous. But um...I have something I would like to show you."
   "Okay, what sort of something?" I raised my eyebrow.
    His arms rose across his chest, and he turned away slightly with a smirk, "Well, I'm not going to tell you. That would just ruin the mystery." He pointed out to me as if he were explaining a chemical solution. Which he has done.
    He started to walk away, expecting me to just follow. Noticing his were the only steps made, he turned, giving me the sweetest, most innocent smile he could have mustered. "Are you coming?"
    His hand gesture excluded all facts of rejecting him. I sighed, following his instruction, not wanting to destroy his easily broken ego.
     We walked past the central garden and into a large grove of trees that supposedly led to the outskirts of Corona. As we neared close to two blackberry bushes, Varian paused, revealing Fidella and Maximus hiding among them.
   "Is this surprise of yours far?" He hopped on Maximus.
   "Not super far, but I promise it will be worth it." He smiled.
    I made my way to Fidella, who looked utterly annoyed at the cheesy smiles that Maximus gave her. I chuckled, jumping up on Fidella.
       "Alright, lead the way."
   He gave me a slight nod as I approached and gestured for Maximus to move forward. I followed suit behind them, though soon found myself at Varian's side. We walked casually, but I couldn't help noticing Varian's nervousness. He fidgeted with the reins, his fingers twisting around them anxiously. "Varian, is everything alright?" I asked him, concerned.
   He jumped. "Oh, me." He motioned to himself. "Oh, I'm fine. I guess I'm just... hoping you'll like what I have to show you."
    My hand fell from Fidella's side to his knee. He turned up to mine, his eyes shocked. "Kid, I promise I will like whatever you show me." I smiled. He smiled back.
    "Well, If that's the case then...Beat you there." He jolted forward. A wicked smile spread over my lips as I quickly followed. He turned his head back to make sure I was keeping up. I laughed. We fought for the front. Until he halted before two large hedges.
    "And the winner of the Annual Corona Horse Race is." He paused for effect, making drumroll noises, tapping his gloved fingers onto Maximus's saddle. "Is Varian and his amazing horse Maximus!"Maximus posed triumphantly for Fidella, who gave a snort of annoyance. "The crowd goes wild. All the ladies screaming from the stands. Oh, Varian you're incredible and oh, so charming." He fluttered his eyes and raised his hands upward to the invisible crowd around him
   I clapped slowly, gaining back his attention from his fictional scenario. "Well, congratulations."
    He turned to me. "Why thank you, my lady...for making my win possible." He gave a bow, rubbing his victory into my pride. "Oh, my poor self-esteem," I smiled, rolling my eyes. He gave a bit of a chuckle. Stepped off of his horse, he offered me his gloved hand.
    My hand tied tighter around Fidella's reins, "Is this...necessary."
    He looked at me, annoyed, "Well, do you want to know the mystery?" He raised his eyebrows.
    I rolled my eyes, breathing tightly, before gripping his hand and allowing him to help me.
   "Okay, here we go." He seemed to say it for himself rather than to me. He led me between the two large hedges.
   Lying on the other side was the lake which surrounded the kingdom of Corona from Old Corona, which lay just beyond. My eyes ran across the water's surface, seeing the moon's sparkling face rippling by dim willow branches resting just on the bend.
   "It's beautiful."
  "I know." I turned to look at him, expecting him to stare at the water, but to my surprise, he was staring at me. My lips parted at this sudden affection.
   "But that's only partly the surprise." He smiled.
  His hand returned to mine, pulling me quickly to where his surprise was. His face seemed to grow more eager as we drew closer. Stepping onto a small dock, I saw what lay beyond him; to my surprise, it was a boat.
     "Tada."
   "It's a boat?"
   He let go of my hand and stood in front of me. Seeing my disappointed expression of coming so far only for a singular boat.
   "Not just any boat. This boat contracts heat energy from the metal panels I added to the boat's sides." He pointed to himself, complete with pride, before gesturing to where it could be found. "And with the heat energy from the sun transferring into the metal. The energy is taken below the boat to a fan, making the boat hover over the water."
   "Hm, that's pretty impressive kid." His face glowed with pride. Varian's finger stroked the lining of the boat, his eyes landing to me.
   "So...do you want to go on a ride?"
  His eyes pleaded with me to go with him. I nodded disappointingly to myself. "Sure, why not...I came all this way after-all." Cassandra shrugged.
   "Great! Co ladies and waiting are back!" He went to high-five me before dropping his hands seeing my arms rested over my chest. He laughed, "Maybe later."
    He stepped in, offering his hand. I found myself sighing, following his steps. I leaned back in one of the wooden seats resting on the side.
   He moved the lever Instantly, causing the boat to start to hover. My heart pounded in my chest with her fingers digging into the inside of the boat. "Are you sure this is safe?"
   "Yeah, no problem." He moved the other lever forward, which I assumed adjusted something under the boat.
    We made our way from the dock. Instantly being illuminated by the bright moon and the dazzling layers of stars.
    The wind was blowing gently around us as we sat in the boat. My eyes closed, taking in the chirping of crickets, the call of an owl, and the light prancing of hooves in this distance as the boat creaked against the pulling wind. "Why did you invite me here tonight, Varian?" I opened my eyes to see him looking behind me as he stirred the boat, not seeming to focus on my question. "Well, to show you what I've created," he motioned with his other hand, which he wasn't using to steer the boat.
   My eyes squinted and leaned forward, resting my elbows to my knees. There was more to this outing than he was telling. "I don't believe that's the only reason," I spoke. He smiled between scarlet a hint of mischief resting over his lips. "I want to tell you something."
    My heart paused. I need to make this quick and forward.
    I found myself placing my hand on his thigh, anxiety-filling my chest. Looking into my emerald eyes, Varian sensed a change in my demeanor. "Varian, I need to tell you that's I've know you've...," I said, trying to prepare myself. I softly bit my lip, struggling to find the words to speak, causing his face to visibly drain with color.
   He gave a small, nervous laugh and asked, "You know I've?" My globes looked up at him, moving my hand from his thigh to his shoulder, forcing him to look into my eyes.
   "Varian, I know what you're doing. You are a sweet kid and I'm grateful that you've treated me with such great kindness, though I can't accept your feelings." His eyes widened shaking his head, "I don't understand." His hand pulled away.
   "Varian, you are not in lo-." A sudden shake rocked the boaplopping us into the water. My fear started to spread. Varian left his attention to me and returned to the levers at his side.
  I instantly recalled back to all the other inventions he had made before. All leading to an explosion or mishap of some sort. "Varian, what was that?" He juggled with the gears, bashing them over and over. "Varian! I'm not in the mood to die tonight."
   I heard something unscrew as air from some source sprang from it. We both looked in the direction where it came from. "Was that important?"
   He shook out of his shaking arms, releasing his hands from the levers, smiling sheepishly.
  "Well, it all depends on if it was one of the nails on the tank of flynolium. You know, in case we ran out of solar power. Or if one of the nails screwed onto the pillar to keep it in tack. Either or both of them are not good." Another screw untightened and launched right past my face.
    There suddenly came a bubbling sound surrounding them in steam. "I think I know which one it was." I stood up, getting in a position to jump. Varian grabbed my hand. "Wait, what are you doing?"
    "This thing is going to blow; we have to jump." He shook his head, responding in another burst of energy.
    The bubbling grew louder and louder. I couldn't wait any longer for Varian to respond before I jumped into the water, our hands remaining attached. The water was frosty and cold.
     Varian went to rise from the water. I grabbed his hand to stop him, motioning for him to follow me. A sudden erupt of color came from above us. I quickly swam towards the shore. Looking back at Varian, I noticed he was close to losing consciousness. I quickly broke through the surface of the water, grabbing Varian.
    I plopped him onto the surface first, with me following after. I turned to look back at the boat, now in flames. Another explosion came from it as patterns of smoke covered the full moon overhead.
     I returned back to Varian, noticing his chest not heaving. I quickly went to check his pulse. It was rasping but there.
    I shook him, "Kid, get up?" I paused, waiting for an answer, before shaking him again. My hands pushed against his chest.
    "Varian!" I yelled. He rose suddenly, taking a big breath before turning back and releasing the water that had gripped him. He continued to breathe heavily for some time.
   "Are you okay?" The sound of crickets engulfed us for a few seconds before he answered, coughing.
   "Well, that was exciting." Varian gave me a small smile at me. He whipped against his lips to hide his embarrassment. "Don't you ever try doing that again!" I pulled him in for a hug, which he immediately embraced.
   I quickly let go, suddenly feeling a bit awkward and slightly troubled. "Cassie, I'm sorry this night was supposed to be well...different."
He sat there, bringing his knees to his chest and face. I put a hand on his shoulder, turning his attention back. "Hey, it was still a pretty cool surprise. I'm impressed with you, Varian."
      He smiled.
  "So, what would you say before we were rudely interrupted?" he asked, excitement evident in his sparkling eyes. I paused, unsure whether to continue what I was about to say. Varian seemed eager to hear my thoughts as if seeking validation or praise from me. I half smiled, giving up, "It's not important now. Just breathe, kid. You're safe."
   I'm just going to let him have this for a little longer. But whatever feelings he has for me cannot last, not just for his sake but for mine. I have to keep my position.
    He frowned as I lay on the shore, peering at the stars. His pressure lay down beside me, his eyes resting on my hair.
   "So, did you see receive my rose?" His hands rested over his stomach as she turned. I smiled, still staring at the stars, "I did."
   "You know it's a special flower designed from the chemical Cassandrium. It will last forever...just like these stars."

***

   I returned to reality, seeing the flower he had given me before his madness. I wish I could hate him. It would have been so much easier for me to hate him. But I couldn't. All that joy that was once present in him was gone. But I can't help but hope that Varian is still in there. I wish I would have said something to Raps that night; maybe his fate would have changed.
    I looked back at the necklace. Reaching towards it, hesitant.
    Suddenly, another pair of sharp claws dug into my other shoulder. I whipped around, causing the creature to retreat and Owl to take flight. Unsheathing my sword, I pointed it at the mysterious creature, seeing...
   "Ruddiger?"